Arkema increases production capacity at its Calvert City Kynar PVDF plant

F O C U S Arkema increases production capacity at its Calvert City Kynar PVDF plant Work to extend Arkema’s Kynar PVDF resin plant in Calvert City, Kentucky, is nearing completion. This latest debottlenecking of around $20 M will ensure a 15% increase in the plant’s production capacity from early 2010. One fast-growing Kynar PVDF application in new energy sources is the production of extruded film as backing sheets for photovoltaic modules. The Kynar films are used in a sandwich construction, trademarked KPKTM, wherein a polyester film is placed between layers of Kynar film. The film construction protects the backside of solar panels and helps maintain operating efficiency and cell life. Drawing on its expertise and capacity for innovation, Arkema also markets new highmolecular-weight Kynar grades with outstanding purity and adhesion characteristics, for electrode binders in lithium-ion batteries. With their excellent resistance to weathering and chemicals, Kynar resins have many applications in architectural finishes and in construction, in components for chemical processing industry, in piping systems and components, and in high performance wire and cable jacketing. Kynar’s inherent qualities also make it a special material in other high-growth applications, including hollow fibre membranes for water filtration, multilayer pipes, flexible tubing, closed cell foams and materials, and primerless powder coatings. Press release from: Arkema, 420, rue d’Estienne d’Orves, F-92705 Colombes, France, tel: +33 1 4900 8080, fax: +33 1 4900 8396, website: http://www.arkema.com (26 Oct 2009)

Getting Asia ready for change: India has a strong case for environmental legislation but the journey could be long The Indian paints and coatings industry, despite being dubbed as DECEMBER 2009

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the next golden market with massive potential, still has a long way to go before it can keep up with developed countries in terms of environmental regulations and consumer-friendly products. Demand for paint and surface coatings in India reached 1.64 M tonnes in 2008, of which decorative coatings account for 79% or 1.3 M tonnes. The country’s industrial coatings market stands at around 340,000 tonnes. India also holds the world’s highest percentage of decorative paint consumption and a further million tonnes capacity is anticipated to be added by 2013, spurred by the focus on infrastructural projects. The size of the Indian market and the prospects it offers drew in the interest of nearly all of the global production companies. Despite being highly competitive though, India has no laws relating to inputs and final products in the paint sector. It also has no mandatory standards for lead levels in paints, only a voluntary limit of 1000 ppm specified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Results of an in-depth survey on lead content in paint conducted by the Indian Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) indicated that major Indian firms exceed even the voluntary limit specified by the BIS. CSE’s Pollution Monitoring Laboratory found that 72% of the samples (18 out of 25) exceeded BIS’ voluntary limit on lead content in 2008 and 2009. The brands tested include Asian Paints’ Apcolite, Kansai Nerolac Paints’ Nerolac and Shalimar Paints’ Superlac. Findings also show that only ICI India eliminated lead pigments and lead additives from its products. Mr Murty, CEO of Asian Paints, claimed that they have ceased using salts of lead and other heavy metals in their products, and added that other companies will follow suit when standards become mandatory. Two tables present

C OAT I N G S the market share of five Indian paint companies in architectural and industrial paints. APCJ, Asia Pacific Coatings Journal, 19 Oct 2009, 22 (5), 26-27

Getting Asia ready for change: Singapore blazes a trail in Asia with tight environmental coatings regulation Singapore is deemed to be the leader among other ASEAN countries in terms of compliance with industry standards, specifically those related with the environment. This approach is being used or has already been used to all key major international regulations including the volatile organic compounds (VOC) directive 2004/42/EC set by the European Union (EU); the coatings regulations of the International Maritime Organisation; the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals set by the UN; and the EU’s chemical control system REACH. Singapore’s National Environmental Agency (NEA) oversees the control of hazardous substances under the Environmental Protection and Management Act (EPMA), which outlines tight regulation for paints with mercury, lead and asbestos content. Tributyltin (TBT)containing paint is also now subjected to EPMA after its inclusion into the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. Singapore has been particularly meticulous in implementing regulations related to VOC-related standards and REACH. Key to its VOC reduction efforts is the ‘Singapore Green Labelling Scheme’ (SGLS) which awards eco-labels to eco-friendly products. To comply with SGLS, VOC levels must not be higher than 50 g/litre in water-based paints and stains, and should not exceed 200 g/litre in solvent paints and stains. The Singaporean marine 7